Ryu Kyung-su tank plant, Sinhung, South Hamgyong Province
[Sinheung / Shinhung / Xingheung]
40°12'06"N 127°36'39E or 40.211N, 127.576E
The Ryu Kyong-su Tank Factory in Sinhung, South Hamgyong Province, under the Second Machine Industry Bureau, is where Chonma-ho and Pokpung-ho Main Battle Tanks are built. Sinhung Armored Vehicle Assembly Repair Plant is located 1.5 NM northeast of Sinhung. By the early 1980s it was known to produce M-1973 APC, SP AA guns, and SP MRL.
The precise location of this factory is a bit of a puzzle. A 1983 report by the the US National Photographic Interpretation Center provides coordinates for a complex of blue roof buildings with half a dozen large buildings and a few dozen much smaller structures. A rather mroe promising site is located about 2 kilometers to the West, a complex of pink roof buildings with a single really large building, half a dozen medium size buildings and a few dozen much smaller structures. Unlike the blue complex, the pink complex has a large parking yard with several dozen vehicles in evidence. The blue complex feels a bit dilapidated and run down, while the pink complex feels like recent construction.
The rate of production of the agricultural tractors and light civilian vehicles had been constantly growing in the 1960s. While successfully solving the process of increasing the rate of production of new kinds of machines and equipment the friends are still devoting insufficient attention to increasing the quality of the output being produced. For example, they are not maintaining the technical requirements of production precision when manufacturing the spiral bevel gears of the rear axle, the crankshaft, the gear boxes, and distributor shaft of the truck. Because of a lack of some kinds of metal the mechanical engineers were forced to use metal of other types to manufacture parts. This leads to the frequent failure of the vehicles manufactured. For example, one of the vehicles ended up unusable for further operation after traveling 100 km.
In the 1960s, at many enterprises of the machine building industry proper attention was still not being pad to increasing the quality of the output being produced, a high percentage of defective goods are permitted, and regular preventive maintenance is poorly organized, which leads to premature wear and equipment failure; equipment on hand is not with sufficient skill or correctly. Additional difficulties are created in fulfilling the state plan because of insufficient experience in the disposition of forces and the use of manual laborers and office workers of enterprises. There is not enough machining equipment, especially precision machines and press-forging equipment, and there are still not enough skilled workers.
according to a former KPA colonel who defected to South Korea in 1999, the North Koreans stole the blueprints of the T-62 from Syria in the late 1970s. These blueprints were then reportedly used to develop the North Korean version of the T-62 by the Second Machine Industry Bureau, who reportedly received the first order to produce the tanks in 1976. But the true story is rather more prosaic.
The Ryu Kyung-su tank plant is based on a complete T-62 production complex transferred from the Soviet Union to the DPRK in the mid-1970s. The Soviets had completed production of the T-62, and had no further use for the factory tooling. The precise chronology of this transfer is unclear, and there is essentially no detectable narrative of who did what when. Tank assembly at this facility was ready in 1967, using knock down kits imported from the USSR to North Korea. In 1968 licensed assembly of the T-62 in North Korea began, using imported components.
The T-62 (object 166) is a Soviet medium main tank created on the basis of the T-55 tank. It was produced in Ukraine from 1962 to 1975. It was the world's first serial tank with a smooth-bore gun, and the mass of a medium tank with a high level of armor. The development of the T-62 tank began in 1957, by the design bureau of plant number 183 Uralvagonzavod located in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region, under the leadership of L.N.Kartsev. The prototype was manufactured in 1959, and production of the T-62 was carried out in the USSR from 1962 to 1973. A total of 500 T-62 were delivered to the DPRK from the USSR: 350 T-62 from 1971 to 1975, a further 150 T-62 from 1976 to 1978, and 470 T-62s were produced under license as Chonma-Ho from 1980 to 1989.
In 1972 serial production of the base model T-62 at the Uralvagonzavod Production Association was discontinued, and in 1975 serial production of the T-62 in the USSR was entirely discontinued. At some point in this timeframe the Soviets apparetnly transferred the complete T-62 production line to North Korea, having no further use for this tooling. The T-62 ended production in the USSR before the T-55, so it was not considered an important tank after the development of the T-64/72/80 series. The DPRK mastered the production of its own Chonma-ho ("Flying Horse") tanks on the basis of the T-62. North Korea was the last state to build T-62s, having built around 2,000 of them with production ending around 1997.
As of 1983, the US National Photographic Interpretation Center reported that an increase in the production of weapons systems here was indicated by the presence of a high count of armored vehicles. As of December 1983, a total of 88 armored vehicles were present, with 15 to 40 armored veicls normally present. At that time, equipment included 14 self-propelled anti-tank guns, 40 self propelled anti-aircraft guns [SPAAG], 16 self propelled multiple rocket launchers [MRL], 5 M-1974 armored personnel carriers, and 13 other unidentified weapons chassis.
The new vehicles are assembled at the North Korean Ryu Kyung-soo tank factory, but spare parts come from various military enterprises in the DPRK. South Korean experts also suggested that, despite international sanctions, Pyongyang seems to somehow manage to get spare parts from Russia and Eastern Europe. Ryu Kyong-su was a partisan who commanded the North's first tank division during the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea has bestowed his name on a tank educational institute as well. His widow, Hwang Sun-hui, served as director of the Korea Revolutionary Museum.
Although the production or final assembly of the "Storm Tiger" tank is said to have been entrusted to the Ryukyong Shou Tank Plant, several other factories in North Korea can also produce tanks and may also participate in the "Storm Tiger" program. All these factories belong to the Second Machinery Industry Bureau of the Second Economic Commission and are located in Xinxing, South Hamgyong Province.
Sinheung-gun is a county located in the inland mountainous region of central Hamgyeong-do. The annual average temperature is 22.4°C, and the first frost falls around October 18, and the last frost falls around April 20, and the annual average rainfall is 933mm. Forests account for 85% of the total area of ??the county, and the main tree species are pine, oak, secretion, spruce, etc., and blood trees, pine trees, bicolor trees, pyrite, serrata, sputum, and hazel are mixed. In addition, there are various kinds of mountain fruits, wild vegetables, and medicinal materials. Cropland is about 10% of the total area of ??the county, of which 25% is rice paddies and 55% fields. The main agricultural products are corn, rice, potatoes, and tobacco.
The Seongcheon River, which originates in the northern mountainous regions, flows south and flows into Hamju-gun, and there are some cultivated lands and mountains. Because of this, the risk of landslides is high. A narrow flatland was formed in these river basins, and the Seongcheon River basin is the largest plain in this county and becomes the center of agriculture and residence. In Sinheung-gun, a large amount of electricity was produced by the change of the Bujeon River basin. It is said to be supplied to a large number of factories and companies in the industrial sector in the East Coast region.
In December 1920, a railway from Hamheung to Sinheung was built, and in January 1930, a railway from Sinheung to Bujeon Lake was completed. There is an incoming rail line in the northeast direction of the station. This lead-in line is connected to Sinheungrodongja-gu and its surrounding facilities (there are also tunnels that look like coal mines). At the Sinheung Station, the standard gauge section ends and the narrow gauge section begins. During the Japanese colonial period, it was called Hamnam Sinheung Station with the same Chinese characters as Shinko Station in Japan.
In addition, all the residential facilities of Sinheung-eup are located along the Seongcheon River, so if the river overflows due to flooding, the center of this Sinheung-gun may be blown away. This is the middle stream and the river width is only 250m. The folk tales of this region include legends set in the background of rugged hills and rivers.
In the 105th KPA Tank Division, aviation did not knock out so many combat vehicles, but the situation with vehicles was very bad. The rain of awards that poured down on the division in late July and early August helped to restore the morale of the personnel. On 27 July 1950, the 105th Tank, 3rd and 4th Infantry Seoul Divisions became Guards. In August, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Divisional Commander Ryu Kyung-su, who became Lieutenant General, was awarded the title of Hero of the DPRK, and many officers and crew members were awarded orders. By 1952, there was almost no one left in the 105th division who started the war as part of it.
Lieutenant General Ryu Kyung-soo back in August 1950, when the division was withdrawn to the front reserve near Geumcheon, took command of the 3rd KPA Infantry Division, and in January 1951 was appointed commander of the 3rd Army. After the war, he became a member of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, held high command positions in the Armed Forces of the DPRK and, according to the official version, died on November 19, 1958 from a brain disease.
On May 23, 2001, the 105th Guards Armored Seoul Division was named Ryu Kyung-soo. Currently, the division is equipped with the Cheonmaho-216 and Songun-915 tanks, which are produced at the Ryu Kyung-su tank plant located in Xingheung [ Sinhung, South Hamgyong Province].
The basis of the tank fleet of the KPA ground forces are combat vehicles of domestic production, created on the basis of Soviet models. In particular, the DPRK produced about 1,200 Chongmaho tanks, which are a modernized version of the T-62. In the late 70s the USSR sold the DPRK a license to manufacture this tank. For the homeland, it was already an outdated project, to return to production, which no one was going to, which cannot be said about the Koreans. At first, they produced original tanks, but over time, this was not enough for them. And then a wave of modernizations, improvements and everything that we with you, perhaps, will never know, started.
Currently in production is a new tank "Pokphunho", created on the basis of the T-72. In addition, the DPRK produced the M-1985 light tank, which is considered the world's largest amphibious tank. They are complemented by imported vehicles - Soviet T-34-85, T-55, T-62, PT-76, as well as Chinese "type 59". In the DPRK, a tracked armored personnel carrier VTT-323 (M-1973) is produced, which is a development of the Chinese YW531H, which is also in service with the KPA ground forces. Other types of armored personnel carriers are also in service, mainly Soviet-made - BTR-40 (and its Chinese clone "type 55"), BTR-152, BTR-50P, BTR-60, BTR-80.
In the late-1970s, the DPRK began to strengthen the combat power of its ground forces, primarily in terms of saturating them with armored vehicles. An important point was the entry into service, in addition to the T-54 and T-55 medium tanks previously supplied from the USSR (as well as their Chinese counterparts "Type 59") and a number of heavy IS-2 and IS-3 Soviet main battle tanks T-62 with a powerful 115-mm smoothbore cannon, the production of which was also established by the North Korean defense industry.
In the mid-1970s, the North Korean industry launched the production of a licensed version of the Soviet T-62 medium tank. In the DPRK, this technique was called "Chonma" (the names "Chongmaho" and "Chollima" are also found). For the first time such a vehicle was shown publicly only in the early 1980s. Subsequently, on the basis of the existing tank, several new combat vehicles were created, differing from each other in one or another design modifications, as well as the increase in the main characteristics associated with them.
Korean engineering genius did not "reinvent the wheel" and placed it in its usual place - in the frontal part of the tank hull. Unlike its predecessor, the circulation of the P'okp'ung-ho ("Tiger of the Storm") did not go platinum and was sold in only 200-300 cars. The peculiarities of the new design, the price of components and the not very high manufacturability of the defense plants of North Korea did not allow the production of a lot of these tanks.
North Korea succeeded in developing a top-notch tank, the capabilities of which are nearly identical with those of the T-90 tank Russia developed in the early 1990s. The tank was developed by Ryu Kyong-su Tank Factory, located in Shinhung, South Hamgyong Province, and the factory's chief engineer, in recognition of his role in the tank's development, has been promoted to a senior position in the Second Economic Committee, taking charge of the military economy.
North Korea’s poor economy, a shift in priorities from conventional to nuclear arms, and now the use of the Ryu-Kyong Su tank factory to develop and produce missile TELs will all cut into conventional tank production.
A review of early 1983 imagery confirmed that North Korea's newest, indigenously designed self-propelled multiple rocket launcher (SP MRL) was under production at a plant in Sinhung and that the M-1981 self-propelled gun (SPG) was in at least the final stages of assembly at a plant in Tokchon.
The SP MRLs, which consisted of a probable pedestal-mounted 107mm MRL on the rear third of a modified M-1973 armored personnel carrier chassis, were at Sinhung Armored Vehicle Assembly/Repair Plant PUG 2 nautical miles (nm) east of Sinhung. The number of SP MRLs observed suggested that this weapons system was probably in series production at Sinhung. Eight SP MRLs and four probable SP MRLs without rocket pods, in various stages of assembly, were in the plant's storage/transshipment area. A fifth probable SPMRL, also without a rocket pod, was near the main plant entrance. All were canvas covered. In the past, this weapons system had been confirmed only with the special infantry brigades in the Namdaechon area, where they were observed in June 1982. Namdaechon is 38 nm east of Sin-hung. These SP MRLs probably replaced the towed 107mm MRLs there.
The production of SP MRLs and M-1981 SPGs probably indicated that North Korea's priorities had shifted to include the mechanization of fire support for infantry divisions. Very little upgrading of infantry regimental artillery (107mm MRLs and 76mm divisional guns) or divisional field gun assets (100mm and 122mm D-74) had been confirmed. With the probability that series production of these two weapons systems was underway, the units most likely to begin receiving them are the divisions, where mechanization has been identified since 1981.
Due to the lack of electricity and the floods encountered in 2010, it is reportd that North Korea’s most famous tank industrial bases - the "Ryu Kyung-soo Factory" [which is welll known] and the "Guicheng Tank Factory" [an opaque reference - Seong-gye / Gye-seong / Eijuon ?] - experienced difficult recovery in production.
